


Three meetings

by arrowupmysleeve



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Gen, Humor, Kinda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:55:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26544823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arrowupmysleeve/pseuds/arrowupmysleeve
Summary: It’s a beautiful day in Sentral Park. The sun is shining and Martha is trying to enjoy it, but the last adventure with the Doctor is still weighing on her mind. She had asked the Doctor to set down on earth, Martha needed a break from all the craziness, but she had not expected him to put her down in America in the 1970s. Or so the Doctor claimed. Martha was more inclined to believe it was the 1980s, but the Doctor had run off to investigate something before she could ask and Martha had let him.So here she was, walking about in Sentral Park in the 1970s, possibly 80s, enjoying the sight of human beings just doing ordinary human things. Martha had never expected that the sight of normal life would be this comforting.“Excuse me, Ma’am?” A voice with a British accent asks. “Are you alright?”Blinking Martha turns to look at the speaker. He is an older gentleman, perhaps in his fifties, maybe older, with grey hair and a concerned expression on his face.
Relationships: Amy Pond/Rory Williams
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	1. Doctor Martha Jones?

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm listening to a podcast called Unspoiled and one of the shows they cover is Doctor Who, and they just did the episode where Amy and Rory leave the show, and I was filled with all the feels. 
> 
> Disclaimer, I have never been to New York and I have no idea have the city works, especially not in the 1970s/80s.

It’s a beautiful day in Sentral Park. The sun is shining and Martha is trying to enjoy it, but the last adventure with the Doctor is still weighing on her mind. She had asked the Doctor to set down on earth, Martha needed a break from all the craziness, but she had not expected him to put her down in America in the 1970s. Or so the Doctor claimed. Martha was more inclined to believe it was the 1980s, but the Doctor had run off to investigate something before she could ask and Martha had let him. 

So here she was, walking about in Sentral Park in the 1970s, possibly 80s, enjoying the sight of human beings just doing ordinary human things. Martha had never expected that the sight of normal life would be this comforting.

“Excuse me, Ma’am?” A voice with a British accent asks. “Are you alright?”

Blinking Martha turns to look at the speaker. He is an older gentleman, perhaps in his fifties, maybe older, with grey hair and a concerned expression on his face. 

“I’m fine.” She runs the back of her hand over her cheeks and they come away wet. Alright, that may not have been the best defense and indeed, the man does not look convinced.

“Are you sure? You’re not hurt are you?” He has not stepped closer, but he is definitely hovering, with a slight frown on his face.

“No, I’m fine.” Martha smiles at him. “Just overwhelmed.”

“Ah, a fellow Brit.” The smile he sends her is genuinely warm, he can’t have been in New York long. “Are you sure you’re not hurt? I’m a nurse.”

“Thanks for aking, but I’m a doctor, I can handle myself.” She laughs but stops when the man makes a shooked sound, and she has half a second of worry before the man steps forward looking intently at her.

“Doctor Martha Jones?” He asks and now its Marthas turn to frown.

“Yes.” She answers, but her guard is up now and the man must recognize it because he steps back again and smiles apologetically.

“My apologies, I should have introduced myself first.” He offers her a hand to shake. “I’m Rory Williams, I just to travel with the Doctor.”

Martha reaches out and takes Rory’s hand partly on instinct. “I’m Martha. He never mentioned you.”

“That’s because your Doctor hasn’t met me yet, I’m from his future,” Rory says and checks the time, even as it leaves Martha’s head spinning. “I’m supposed to meet my wife for dinner, would you like to join us?”

“I-What?” Martha studies the man again, but that doesn’t give her any answers.

“There is a cafe on the other side of the park where I always eat dinner with Amy after work on Tuesday.” Rory smiles at the mention of his wife. “We could talk more there if you have the time?”

Martha takes a second to consider the offer, before agreeing to dinner.

\--

The woman sitting on the outside table lights up when she sees Rory. She stands up to kiss him and when they finally separate Martha looks on in amusement as Rory choughs and blushes. “Martha, this is my wife Amy. Amy this is Doctor Martha Jones. You remember the Doctor told us about her?”

Amy makes a sound of recognition as she studies Martha. “Yes, the leather jacket is very distinctive.”

Martha grins at the teasing tone in Amy’s voice, they shake hands and they sit down at the table.

“Where’s the Doctor?” Amy asks when the waiter has left with their orders.

“He said something about taking a look at an interesting graveyard,” Martha wawes a hand. “I have seen that movie, so no thanks.”

Amy laughs in agreement and they settle in to wait for their food, making small talk. It’s not until Amy makes a comment about cellphones that Martha realizes what has been bothering her since she sat down.

“Your not from this time, are you?” Martha asks.

“No,” Amy exchanges a look with Rory, who shrugs. “We are from the same time as you.”

“Then how did you end up here?”

“Time shenanigans,” Is Rory’s answer and Amy smacks him in the shoulder. “What? It’s accurate.”

Amy rolls her eyes but doesn’t disagree with him. “There was an incident involving time interference and when we ended up here the Doctor couldn’t come back for us.”

Martha grins. “We can get you back-”

“No!” Amy cuts her off harshly, but then relaxes her shoulders and smiles. “We saw our own graves in our time. Leaving would create a paradox and we have seen what can happen if you mess with time.” Amy smiles at Rory. “Besides, we’re together. Nothing else matters.”

Martha furrows her brow but lets the matter drop. 

\--

They spend the next couple of hours talking and Martha spends most of it telling them about her adventures with the Doctor.

“He did not!” Amy exclaims in horror and delight, while Rory bends over in laughter.

“He did!” Martha replies, she is laughing so hard there are tears streaming down her face and she can’t quite catch her breath. 

“Martha?” Someones ask and when they turn to look there is the Doctor. Amy takes one look at him and bursts out laughing again.

“Oh my God, you forgot to mention the sideburns.” Amy gasps.

“I don’t think you’re allowed to comment, considering ours looks 12 and wears a bowtie,” Rory says, and Martha sends him a look.

“A bowtie? Really?” Martha sounds unconvinced and Rory shrugs.

“He kinda pulled it off.”

“You want to introduce me to your friends, Martha.” The Doctor walks up to their table and looks between the three of them.

“And that’s our cue,” Rory says and stands up. Amy takes another moment to gather herself then joins her husband.

“I’m sorry Doctor,” Amy meets the Doctors gaze and smiles, “But that would be a spoiler.”

“Really.” Rory sends his wife an exasperated look.

“What? She doesn’t have a monopoly on the word.” Any counters. 

“What’s going on?” The Doctor demands and all three of them rolls their eyes.

“Timey wimey stuff is happening, and we really should be leaving” Rory explains, but Amy is to busy studying the Doctor to take notice.

“Look at him,” Amy tugs at Rory’s sleeve. “He is so young.”

“I’m really not,” The Doctor counters.

“No, really,” Amy sounds fascinated. “I bet you are not even past your first millennia.”

The Doctor pauses and Martha feels her mouth drop open.

“I can’t believe it,” Amy sounds delighted. “Ror- you are older than the Doctor.”

Both Martha and the Doctor blinks in confusion and looks at Rory, who is also studying the Doctor in fascination.

“Huh, would you look at that.” Rory smiles. “I’m older than the Doctor.”

“But your human,” The Doctor protests, but Rory waves the accusation away.

“At the moment, yes.” He tells them as if that makes everything clear, and perhaps it does.

Amy turns back to Martha and leas down to cover her hand with her own. “When you are done traveling, come find us. We will tell you our stories then.”

“Alright, how will I find you?” Martha asks, but Amy laughs.

“We will send you a postcard.” She says. Amy turns to walk out, but Rory stands put.

“Yes?” The Doctor puts his hands in his pockets and looks back at Rory.

“I never got to say goodby the first time,” Rory tells him. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Doctor.” He holds out a hand and after a second of hesitation, the Doctor takes it. 

“The kiss wasn’t too bad either, but give me a warning next time. The dinosaurs kinda through me off.” And then he walks out to join Amy, who takes his hand.

“Wait,” The Doctor calls. “What dinosaurs?”

But Amy and Rory just waves and walks out into the night.

“Martha?” The Doctor turns to look at her. “What dinosaurs?”


	2. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally fonds the time to finish this story. Go me.

Two weeks after getting the earth back into the right place, and saying goodby to the Doctor and Donna, Martha gest a postcard in the mail from Amy and Rory Williams. The postcard is a picture of the same corner they spent the evening talking all those years ago, but it is now a fast-food joint. Besides the contact information, there is only one sentence on the back; _I believe it’s our turn to tell the story._

It still takes Martha almost a year to get to the states. 

An older man is standing by the arrivals at the airport, and he is holding up a sign that read DR. JONES.

Martha walks up to him. “Hello, I’m Martha. You must be Anthony.”

“Yes, that’s me, but please call me Tony,” He picks up Martha’s suitcase and leads the way to his car. They exchange small talk as Tony drives them to the Williams home, but the long flight and the time zones take their toll on Martha.

The house Tony parks next to is an old apartment complex in a quiet street. He retrieves Martha’s suitcase and holds the door open for her. After a quick elevator trip, the two of them arrive at Amy and Rory’s apartment. 

“Mom, Dad,” Tony calls as he closes the door after them. “Martha is here!”

There is the sound of a door slamming, and then a grey-haired woman rounds the corner. It takes Martha a couple of seconds to recognize her as the woman she had the last time she was in New York, but then again, what has been a couple of years for Martha has been decades for Amy.

“Martha!” Amy says, in an unmistakable Scottish accent, and Martha can’t help but smile. “Is good to see you again. You haven’t changed a bit.” 

Amy pulls her into a hug that Martha gladly returns. “Good to see you too, Amy.”

Amy steps back and turns to her son. “Anthony, will you be joining us for dinner?”

“No, mom. I promised Sam I would be back for dinner,” Tony says and tuches his wedding ring. “But we will come over by the weekend.”

“Of course, go say goodby to Rory before you go,” Amy tells him and turns to Martha. “I have made up the guest room for you.”

Martha smiles and follows Amy into the apartment. They make a quick stop at the bathroom before Amy shows her the room. 

“Do you want to take a nap before dinner?” Amy asks, and Martha shakes her head. She had been tired on the way here, but now, standing in front of someone else who has traveled with the Doctor and who knows what it feels like to see the stars, Martha doesn’t feel tired at all.

Amy gives her a knowing look, and together they head into the living room. They meet up with Tony on the way, and Amy stops to say goodby to him. Martha uses that time to study the pictures hanging on the wall. 

There is one that catches her attention. It’s a picture of four women standing in front of a familiar blue box. Amy steps up next to her and looks at the picture.

“Is that the TARDIS?” Martha asks, and Amy nods.

“River borrowed it for a weekend,” Amy says and points at a blond with truly spectacular hair who has her arm thrown over Amy’s shoulder. 

“She needed a date for Leela’s wedding, so she brought Sarah and Jo.” Amy points to the other two women.

“The Doctor let her borrow the TARDIS?” Martha asks in disbelief, and Amy laughs.

“Gods no. But River knows how to pilot it, and she borrows it from time to time,” Amy grins at her. “Plus, we all decided that Sarah and Jo deserved a vacation.”

Martha looks back at the picture. All four of the women are grinning at the camera, and Marth feels a kinship with them. “They all traveled with the Doctor, didn’t they?”

“Yes, now come along,” Amy turns on her heel, and Martha follows.

\--

Meeting Rory again brings the same sense of unease, but it fades quickly, and during dinner, the conversations flow freely. 

“Dinosaurs? On a spaceship?” Martha asks and looks between the two of them. “With queen Nefertiti?”

“Yes,” Rory affirms. “It was quite a spectacle.” 

“So you traveled with the Doctor for years?” Martha asks.

“I’m not sure for how long,” Amy says and looks at Rory for an answer, but he only shrugs. “You know how it is. You leave for a month and then come back five minutes later.”

Martha pulls a face, and Amy shoots her a searching look. 

“The Year That Never Was,” Martha says and takes a drink of her wine. “The Master returned, and he..” Martha trails off.

“We have heard of the Master,” Rory tells her, and Martha feels a great relief that she doesn’t have to explain who he was. “We also heard he want crazy in later years, but she was pretty alright.”

“She?” Martha asks.

“He regenerated,” Amy says. “According to Clara, Missy wasn’t too bad at times.”

“No, the Master died,” Martha says and pushes away from the table. 

“Sweetheart,” Amy says and takes her hand. “We don’t know where Missy fits on the Master’s timeline, but they are Time Lords. They regenerate.”

Martha takes a deep breath and stands up. “I need some fresh air.”

\--

Not all conversations go that bad. 

“Wait, wait. He stole the earth? The entire earth? And then the Doctor toe trucked it back into place?” Rory looks like someone hit him over the head with a wet sock.

“Yes,” Martha blinks at them. “This happened only a year ago. How can you not remember this?”

Amy swirls her wine glass. “That might be why Clara showed up when she did.” At Martha’s questioning look, Amy elaborates. “Clara is a former companion with her own TARDIS. She came to take us to Darillium to have dinner with River.”

Martha blinks and blinks at that. A former companion with her own TARDIS? Oh, how things have changed.

“We’ll give you her number,” Rory tells her, and Martha isn’t sure if that is a threat or a treat.

“Remind me, who is River? She is the one that _borrows_ the Doctor’s TARDIS?” Martha asks and reaches for a biscuit. 

“She is our daughter,” Amy tells her, and Martha almost chokes on her biscuit. “And I think since she is married to the Doctor, she has a right to take the TARDIS for a spin every now and then.”

“Your daughter married the Doctor?” Martha half yells, half shouts, and Rory almost falls over laughing.

\--

“So Donna tells the Doctor, that’s your daughter, and finally he seemed to get it through his head,” Martha rolls her eyes, and Amy nods.

“We haven’t met Jenny, but Clara says she has met her,” Amy says.

“Have you met every Companion the Doctor has ever had?” Martha asks.

“No, not everyone, but we do have a former Companion club with regular meetings,” Rory tells her, and Martha raises an eyebrow. That actually sounds fun.

“I’m coming to the next one, and we are bringing Donna,” Martha declares and watches in confusion as Amy and Rory exchanged troubled glances.

“What?” She asks.

And Amy tells her.

\--

Martha curls up on the lawn chair and buries her face in her knees. There is guilt boiling in her stomach. She had never gone to look for Donna after the last meeting, and she had been a little guilty, but now she only relived. And that feeling fuels her guilt. 

The balcony door opens, and Rory steps put. He takes the seat on the other side of the table, and they sit in silence.

“I’m sorry,” He says.

“Not your fault,” Martha tells him, and he chuckles.

“No, but I’m still sorry for your loss,” Roys turns to look at her. “We never had the chance to meet Donna, but from everything we have been told, she is an amazing person.”

Martha turns her head to look at him. 

IS. 

Donna is an amazing person, Rory had said. 

“She is not dead,” Martha says, and Rory nods. “Then why does it feel like she is?”

“Because you can never see her again without putting her life in danger,” Rory says, and his eyes are old and sad. “And we have to live with the memory of who she was and who she can be again.”

“I dont know what I would have done had I been in Donna’s position,” Martha says, and Rory looks away, but not before Martha had gotten a glimpse of his expression. 

“What?” Martha asks, heart hammering in her throat.

“We have been told that she was begging the Doctor to just let her die,” Rory says, voice low, and Martha feels all air leave her lungs. “That she would rather die than forget who she had become.”

“And he still took her memories,” Martha whispers.

“He did,” Rory confirms. They sit in silence for a long time before Martha lets out a long breath.

“The whole situation sucks,” She says, and Rory laughs. Is a bitter laugh.

“It does, but as someone who has died several times, I think I would rather lose my memories then die again,” He turns to look at her. “As long as we are alive, we can continue to learn and change.”

“You have died?” Martha asks. When Rory nods, she asks if he can tell her about it.

“The first time we were escaping a Silurians city,” He begins, and Martha leans back in her chair to listen.

\--

Martha spends almost a week in New York, but at long last, she needs to return back home.

“This was great,” Amy says. “We should do it again.”

“We absolutely have to,” Martha says in agreement. “And next time I want to meet the rest.” 

“Of course,” Rory says and pulls her into a hug. “Until next time, Dr. Jones.”

“Until next time,” Martha echoes and walks down the steps to join Tony in the car.


End file.
